Derek O'Brien

This is the extreme edge of science — it’s bizarre and quite unbelievable! Apparently a bacterium found on the leaves of plants can turn water into ice and may be playing a role, unknown to humans, as a rainmaker. British and French scientists have some preliminary evidence of this but it’s too early to shout ‘Eureka’! The research has opened a new area of inquiry — bioprecipitation. If the hypothesis is true then rainfall can be manipulated. Seed the clouds with a colony of bacteria and let the rain wash away sweltering heat.

YOUR QUESTIONS

1. Who is the current Union minister of agriculture?

Dip Sen, Rishra

2. What are Black, Oolong, Bio-dynamic and White types of?

Urmimala Roy, Calcutta

3. In which city is the Meenakshi-Sundareshwarar temple located?

Oindrilla Biswas, Calcutta

4. ‘Ecology is permanent economy’, was the slogan of which movement?

Tapan Malakar, Durgapur

5. Which visual arts style derived its name from remarks made by art critic Louis Vauxcelles?

Sutapa Pal, Howrah

6. Romancing with Life is the autobiography of which Indian actor?

Mrinmoy Panda, Narendrapur

7. Which cricketer was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna Award last year?

Amal Jana, Uluberia

8. In which South American country would you find the Sugar Loaf Mountain?

Rajdeep Nayak, Calcutta

9. Which breed of dog was originally called Chukchi?

Goutam Bose, Calcutta

KNOW & GROW WITH DEREK

The maximum speed that raindrops can fall at is around 18mph, depending on their size.

ANSWER & WIN

Who directed the film Angels and Demons?

For Answer and Win, send a quiz question of your own along with the answer. The prize will go to the reader with the correct answer and the best question. Send in answers with your full name and address to: graphitiquiz@gmail.com

Winner of the Answer and Win Quiz published on 14.6.2009

Goutam Bose, Calcutta.

In 1918, who became the first Indian to be elected to the Royal Society of London ?

The answer is Srinivasa Ramanujan.

For queries about Answer and Win, please contact 22804093

Name this politician

POINT OF VIEW

1. Who is this tennis player

2. Identify this actor

ANSWERS

1 Sharad Pawar
2 Tea
3 Madurai
4 Chipko Movement
5 Cubism
6 Dev Anand
7 M.S. Dhoni
8 Brazil
9 Siberian husky

WHO AM I ? Ambika Soni
POINT OF VIEW 1 Andy Murray
POINT OF VIEW 2 Jackky Bhagnani